Footparks como motores de transformação comunitária em contextos vulneráveis: avaliação do impacto na coesão social

Abstract

This Internship Final Report was produced as part of the Master's in Sports Management at the Faculty of Sport, University of Porto (FADEUP), based on the experience gained at Fundação do Futebol - Liga Portugal, a subsidiary of Liga Portugal, which is active in the field of Social Responsibility in football. The central objective of the work was to combine the practical aspect of the internship with an applied research component, whilst simultaneously enhancing the professional learning pathway within a real institutional context and the production of scientific knowledge regarding the Footpark project. In this context, the report reflects both the activities, learning and skills developed throughout the internship, and the empirical analysis of a specific community intervention initiative through sport. The research component focused on the Footpark project, aimed at creating freely accessible sports micro-infrastructures in different areas. The study sought to understand the extent to which the project is associated with socially significant outcomes in the communities where it was implemented, with a particular focus on the dimensions of social capital, collective identity, human capital and perceived objective impact. To this end, a mixed-methods approach was adopted, combining questionnaires administered to residents of communities with Footparks with semi-structured interviews with relevant people linked to the project. The results indicate that the Footpark is primarily associated with the strengthening of relational and symbolic dimensions of community life, showing more robust effects in terms of collective identity, a sense of belonging, social interaction and community appreciation than in more structural indicators of individual or territorial transformation. It is concluded that the project has significant social potential, although its effects depend on how it is integrated into the local area, appropriated by the community and institutionally supported. Overall, the report highlights the importance of the internship as a space for academic, professional and personal development, whilst seeking an empirically grounded understanding of the role of community sport in promoting social cohesion and local development.